BETH ORTON
WEATHER ALIVE
PARTISAN
★★★★
It’s been two decades and change since Beth Orton’s patented brand of folktronica – forged from early collaborations with the likes of William Orbit and The Chemical Brothers – saw her dubbed Britain’s comedown queen. In the years since, she’s flipped back and forth between the folk and electronica poles, but Weather Alive, her first album in six years, is the former BRIT winner’s most assured and coherent since 1999’s Central Reservation.